The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday March 22, 2019 (NIV)

Numbers 33:40-35:34

40 (The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, which was in Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.)

41 They moved from Mount Hor and set up camp at Zalmonah.

42 They moved from Zalmonah and set up camp at Punon.

43 They moved from Punon and set up camp at Oboth.

44 They moved from Oboth and set up camp at Iye Abarim on the border of Moab.

45 They moved from Iyim[a] and set up camp at Dibon Gad.

46 They moved from Dibon Gad and set up camp at Almon Diblathaim.

47 They moved from Almon Diblathaim and set up camp in the Abarim Mountains east of Nebo.

48 They moved from the Abarim Mountains and set up camp on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho. 49 They set up camp on the plains of Moab along the Jordan. Their camp extended from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim.

The Canaanites Must Be Forced Out

50 The Lord said to Moses on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho, 51 “Tell the Israelites, ‘You will be crossing the Jordan River and entering Canaan. 52 As you advance, force out all the people who live there. Get rid of all their stone and metal idols, and destroy all their places of worship. 53 Take possession of the land and live there, because I will give it to you for your own. 54 Divide the land among your families by drawing lots. Give more land to larger families and less land to smaller ones. The land must be given to each family by drawing lots. Divide it among your ancestors’ tribes.

55 “‘But if you do not force out those who live in the land, they will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will constantly fight with you over the land you live in. 56 Then I will do to you what I planned to do to them.’”

The Boundaries of Israel’s Land

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Give the Israelites these instructions. When you enter Canaan, the land that will be given to you as your inheritance has these borders:

“The southern side includes part of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. In the east the southern border starts from the end of the Dead Sea and turns south of the Akrabbim Pass. It then goes past Zin and ends at Kadesh Barnea. From there it goes to Hazar Addar and on to Azmon. From Azmon it turns toward the River of Egypt so that the border ends at the Mediterranean Sea.

“The western border is the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.

“The northern border extends from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor, and from Mount Hor to the border of Hamath so that it ends at Zedad. From there the border goes to Ziphron and ends at Hazar Enan.

10 “The eastern border extends from Hazar Enan to Shepham. 11 From Shepham the border goes down to Riblah, east of Ain, and continues along the eastern slope of the Sea of Galilee. 12 Then the border goes along the Jordan River so that it ends at the Dead Sea.

“This will be your land and the borders around it.”

13 Moses commanded the Israelites, “This is the land you will divide by drawing lots. The Lord has commanded that this land will be given to the nine-and-a-half tribes. 14 The households from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh have already received their land. 15 Those two-and-a-half tribes received land east of the Jordan River across from Jericho.”

Men Are Appointed to Divide the Land

16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “These are the names of the men who will divide the land for you: the priest Eleazar and Joshua, son of Nun. 18 You must also take one leader from each tribe to divide the land. 19 These are their names:

Caleb, son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah;

20 Shemuel, son of Ammihud, from the tribe of Simeon;

21 Elidad, son of Kislon, from the tribe of Benjamin;

22 Bukki, son of Jogli, the leader of the tribe of Dan;

23 Hanniel, son of Ephod, the leader of the tribe of Manasseh;

24 Kemuel, son of Shiphtan, the leader of the tribe of Ephraim;

(Manasseh and Ephraim are Joseph’s descendants.)[b]

25 Elizaphan, son of Parnach, the leader of the tribe of Zebulun;

26 Paltiel, son of Azzan, the leader of the tribe of Issachar;

27 Ahihud, son of Shelomi, the leader of the tribe of Asher;

28 Pedahel, son of Ammihud, the leader of the tribe of Naphtali.”

29 These are the men the Lord commanded to divide Canaan for the Israelites.

Cities for the Levites

35 The Lord spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho. He said, “Tell the Israelites to give the Levites some cities from their own property. They must also give the Levites the pastureland around those cities. Then the Levites will have cities to live in and pastureland for their cattle, the flocks they own, and any other animals they have.

“The land around the cities that you give the Levites will extend 1,500 feet from the city wall. Outside the city measure off 3,000 feet on the east side, 3,000 feet on the south side, 3,000 feet on the west side, and 3,000 feet on the north side, with the city in the center. This will be their pastureland around the city.

“Six of the cities you give the Levites will be cities of refuge. You must allow murderers to escape to these cities. In addition, you must also give the Levites 42 other cities. So you will give a total of 48 cities with pastureland to the Levites. The cities you give the Levites from the property of the other Israelites must be given based on the amount of land each tribe owns. Take more cities from larger tribes and fewer from smaller tribes.”

Cities of Refuge

The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Tell the Israelites: When you cross the Jordan River and enter Canaan, 11 select certain cities to be places of refuge. Anyone who unintentionally kills another person may run to them. 12 These cities will be places of refuge from any relative who can avenge the death. So anyone accused of murder will not have to die until he has had a trial in front of the community. 13 There will be six cities you select as places of refuge, 14 three on the east side of the Jordan River and three in Canaan. 15 These six cities will be places of refuge for Israelites, foreigners, and strangers among you. Anyone who unintentionally kills another person may flee to these cities.

16 “But if any of you uses an iron weapon to kill another person, you are a murderer. Murderers must be put to death. 17 If any of you picks up a stone as a weapon and uses it to kill another person, you are a murderer. Murderers must be put to death. 18 Or if any of you picks up a piece of wood as a weapon and uses it to kill another person, you are a murderer. Murderers must be put to death. 19 The relative who can avenge the death must make sure a murderer is put to death. When he catches up with the murderer, he must kill him. 20 If any of you kills someone you hate by shoving him or by deliberately throwing something at him, 21 or if you beat your enemy to death with your bare hands, you must be put to death. You are a murderer. The relative who can avenge the death must kill you when he catches up with you, because you are a murderer.

22 “But suppose you accidentally kill someone who wasn’t your enemy. Maybe you shoved him or threw something at him but didn’t mean to kill him. 23 Or suppose you drop a big stone, and someone is killed. However, you didn’t know the person was there, he wasn’t your enemy, and you weren’t trying to harm him. 24 Then the community must use these rules in order to decide if you are innocent or if the dead person’s relative can avenge the death. 25 If you are innocent, the community must protect you from that relative. They must take you back to the city of refuge you fled to. You must live there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.

26 “But don’t go outside the city of refuge you fled to. 27 If the relative who can avenge the death finds you outside the city of refuge and kills you, the relative is not guilty of murder. 28 Accused murderers must stay in their city of refuge until the death of the high priest. They may go back to their own property only after his death.

29 “These will be the rules for future generations wherever you live.

30 “Whoever kills another person will be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of more than one witness. No one can be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

31 “Never accept a cash payment in exchange for the life of a convicted murderer who has been given the death penalty. Murderers must be put to death.

32 “An accused murderer who has fled to a city of refuge must never go back and live on his own land before the death of the high priest. Don’t accept a cash payment to allow him to do this.

33 “You must not pollute the land where you live. Murder is what pollutes the land. The land where a murder was committed can never make peace with the Lord except through the death of the murderer. 34 Never make the land where you and I live unclean.[c] I, the Lord, live among the Israelites.”

Footnotes:

  1. Numbers 33:45 Or “Iye Abarim.”
  2. Numbers 34:24 This sentence has been moved from verse 23 in order to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English.
  3. Numbers 35:34 “Unclean” refers to anything that is not presentable to God.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Luke 5:12-28

Jesus Cures a Man with a Skin Disease(A)

12 One day Jesus was in a city where there was a man covered with a serious skin disease. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground. He begged Jesus, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean.”[a]

13 Jesus reached out, touched him, and said, “I want to. So be clean!” Immediately, his skin disease went away.

14 Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone. Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifice as Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean.”

15 The news about Jesus spread even more. Large crowds gathered to hear him and have their diseases cured. 16 But he would go away to places where he could be alone for prayer.

Jesus Forgives Sins(B)

17 One day when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and experts in Moses’ Teachings were present. They had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. Jesus had the power of the Lord to heal.

18 Some men brought a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They tried to take him into the house and put him in front of Jesus. 19 But they could not find a way to get him into the house because of the crowd. So they went up on the roof. They made an opening in the tiles and let the man down on his stretcher among the people. (They lowered him in front of Jesus.)

20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Sir, your sins are forgiven.” 21 The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees thought, “Who is this man? He’s dishonoring God! Who besides God can forgive sins?”

22 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “What are you thinking? 23 Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

25 The man immediately stood up in front of them and picked up the stretcher he had been lying on. Praising God, he went home.

26 Everyone was amazed and praised God. They were filled with awe and said, “We’ve seen things today we can hardly believe!”

Jesus Chooses Levi [Matthew] to Be a Disciple(C)

27 After that, Jesus left. He saw a tax collector named Levi sitting in a tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 5:12 “Clean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is presentable to God.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Psalm 65

Psalm 65

For the choir director; a psalm by David; a song.

You are praised with silence in Zion, O God,
and vows made to you must be kept.
You are the one who hears prayers.
Everyone will come to you.
Various sins overwhelm me.
You are the one who forgives our rebellious acts.
Blessed is the person you choose
and invite to live with you in your courtyards.
We will be filled with good food from your house,
from your holy temple.

You answer us with awe-inspiring acts done in righteousness,
O God, our savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the most distant sea,
the one who set the mountains in place with his strength,
the one who is clothed with power,
the one who calms the roar of the seas,
their crashing waves,
and the uproar of the nations.
Those who live at the ends of the earth are in awe of your miraculous signs.
The lands of the morning sunrise and evening sunset sing joyfully.

You take care of the earth, and you water it.
You make it much richer than it was.
(The river of God is filled with water.)
You provide grain for them.
Indeed, you even prepare the ground.
10 You drench plowed fields with rain
and level their clumps of soil.
You soften them with showers
and bless what grows in them.
11 You crown the year with your goodness,
and richness overflows wherever you are.
12 The pastures in the desert overflow with richness.
The hills are surrounded with joy.
13 The pastures are covered with flocks.
The valleys are carpeted with grain.
All of them shout triumphantly. Indeed, they sing.

Psalm 66

For the choir director; a song; a psalm.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Proverbs 11:23

23 The desire of righteous people ends only in good,
but the hope of wicked people ends only in fury.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group